Red Hand Commando

The Red Hand Commando was a small and secretive Ulster loyalist paramilitary group that existed from 1972 to 2009 during The Troubles. The RHC recruited young Protestant "tartan" gangsters to carry out attacks against Irish republicans, and it managed to keep itself free of informants by having a highly selective process. The RHC was disciplined and secretive, and it would act as the elite special forces of the Ulster Volunteer Force. In October 1994, the RHC started a ceasefire with the Provisional IRA, ended its armed campaign in May 2007, and disarmed in 2009.